Nude woman atop Portland building wraps self in flag

Portland, Ore (KGW) -- A 34-year-old woman was taken for a mental health evaluation after she climbed a flag pole on a Portland building without any clothes on Wednesday night, police said.

She was suffering from a mental health crisis and might have been under the influence of stimulants, said Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson.

Crews were called just before midnight to the disturbance at the Oregon Bank Building, at 319 SW Washington Street, he said.

"Several officers responded to the building and gained access to the roof," Simpson said. "The woman had stripped off her clothes, climbed the flagpole, removed the American flag, then climbed back down the flagpole."

Once she was down from the pole, Simpson said the woman wrapped herself in the flag and began throwing construction glue from the rooftop to the street below. Several vehicles were damaged.

Officers were able to take her into custody and she was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

The woman at one point was holding a lighter and a fire extinguisher, Simpson said. But investigators did not say she was connected to the fire at the nearby Yeon Building, located at 522 SW 5th Avenue.

Witnesses at the scene of that fire reported seeing a woman on the roof holding a flag and yelling, "Let it burn!"

The cause of the Yeon Building fire is under investigation.

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